The more things change, the more they suck

At first, I thought the conversion of many Chicago White Hen convenience stores to 7-11s wouldn't be a big deal. After all, a convenience store is a convenience store, right?

Wrong. Last night I was stunned at how each and every change to my newly-converted neighborhood 7-11 has made it worse. First, there is less stuff in fewer aisles. Second, the whole place now has that gas-station vibe, perhaps because all of my previous 7-11 experiences involved driving. Third, while waiting in line for the requisite elderly man to count out however many nickels it takes to buy cigarettes, you now have to stand right in front of the taquito display. There they are, all day and all night, spinning in a greasy little rotation. Who eats those things? Who wants to look at them?